New house furnishing and appliances shopping advice

g000444555

I just bought my first house. It's a nice 3 bedroom detached house with a large wrap around garden.

As the house is empty, I will be spending a large amount of money for furniture and appliances. Therefore, I am wondering what would be the best strategy in terms of money and time savings.

When it comes to HOW to buy, here are some ideas:

1. Hire a professional decorator who will take into account your preferences and pick the best items on your behalf. Maybe not the best money saving option, however, I guess it would save a lot of my time and the result would be probably better.

2. Shop around on an item-by-item basis. Search online on the websites: amazon.co.uk and ebay.co.uk. Seek for deals in local stores and Groupon. Use the honey browser plugin for coupons. Use any other discount scheme that you might have access to, including your employer's discount deals.

Now, in terms of WHAT to buy, I have some questions

1. Is there any particular brand or store that you had a good or bad experience with?

2. Would you recommend using the same brand for everything or picking the best on a case-by-case basis?

3. Would there be any advantage in buying everything from the same store as opposite to ordering every item from different providers?

4. I heard that the latest trend is to use dark colors in the kitchen. I am thinking to buy all appliances in black color. I understand that this is a subjective matter, however, if anyone has a strong opinion in favour or against this please do let me know.

As this is one of the most demanding exercises in terms of money and time, I would appreciate your comments and suggestions.

Slithery

Go second hand - you'll save thousands over any of your plans.

MovingForwards

Second hand all the way. I picked up everything from British Heart Foundation, including a new bed and mattress. Curtains I got from Argos and only picked from the sale section. I didn't need white goods as they were in the flat.

Kitting out a 2 bed flat cost me under £750.

Decorating, unless your home is really bad, can wait until you have settled in.

No need to rush into doing everything now, you have your home and can do a bit at a time.

[Deleted User]

And buy things you like. It doesn't matter if the latest trend is dark.

All that means is that you'll buy things you don't really like, pay a premium and your house will look horribly dated in two years.

UnderOffer

1. I’d definitely shop about, go and visit stores and look at different styles to see what you like most. Furniture Ikea and Dunelm offer good value. Appliances compare with John Lewis as you can sometimes get longer warranty from JL. 
2. Read reviews and recommendations for best brand. 
3. Even if you did buy from one store, I doubt they’d deliver in 1 day. You’d still spend time waiting in for scheduled deliveries on different days and times agreed with you at time of ordering. 
4. Not heard of this, I’d go for what colour best suits your kitchen cupboard colours & worktop, but probably have all items matching, ie washing machine/fridge/dishwasher/microwave all white or silver or black, assuming nothing is integrated. 

Smodlet

OP, I am not sure you inhabit the same universe as we mere money-savers.  Having said which, if you want my input, I would always choose items myself after doing quite extensive online research and buy them from whoever was cheapest.  Clearly this is not a priority for you so what do you actually want?  Are you just setting this place up as somewhere to rent out or do you actually intend to live there?  If so, do you have any preference or is your taste defined by social media "influencers"?  <Aside:  That word makes me want to puke>

I loathe shiny, white kitchens; shiny, black kitchens are the next worst.  I was told, long ago, by someone I knew who sold kitchen units for a living that the shinier the surface, the sooner it will show wear and tear.  It makes perfect sense when you think about it and my experience bears this out.

I suggest you think about what you want to achieve in the short to medium term:  Do you want a home or an investment property?

g000444555

Do you want a home or an investment property?

This is a home and not an investment property. If I was to rent it out then buying second hand would be much more appealing.

Smodlet

g000444555 said:

Do you want a home or an investment property?

This is a home and not an investment property. If I was to rent it out then buying second hand would be much more appealing.

Then why not decide what you like rather than what someone else tells you you should like?

g000444555

Then why not decide what you like rather than what someone else tells you you should like?

Have you read the original post?

If you read it and still have the same question, here are couple of more things to consider.

1. Learning from other people's experiences can be beneficial.

2. Even when it comes to subjective things, hearing other people's opinion can present a different perspective that you haven't thought of.

I understand that you might not particularly appreciate the question, however, it wasn't directed specifically to you, and therefore you always have the option to not comment.

Smodlet

g000444555 said:

Then why not decide what you like rather than what someone else tells you you should like?

Have you read the original post?

If you read it and still have the same question, here are couple of more things to consider.

1. Learning from other people's experiences can be beneficial.

2. Even when it comes to subjective things, hearing other people's opinion can present a different perspective that you haven't thought of.

I understand that you might not particularly appreciate the question, however, it wasn't directed specifically to you, and therefore you always have the option to not comment.

Ooo-eee.  Then I rest my case; form your own opinions or go tell it to "influencers".  Whose taste do you want to live with?  As far as I am concerned, the only people's opinions who matter a damn to me are my own and OH's.

GaleSF63

Maybe I am influenced by TV do-it-up programmes, but I always get the feeling that the professionals are choosing for themselves, not their clients.

2. Would you recommend using the same brand for everything or picking the best on a case-by-case basis?
I moved into a new-build flat with all white goods from the same manufacturer.  The washer/dryer was rubbish.  the dishwasher was superb. 
Go for quality not make.